Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,295 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $20,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $151.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.85. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.

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